Tempered by war, corpsman strives to be Navy surgeon

Coronado-based SEAL served two combat deployments to Iraq

San Diego  Jonathan Kim, such a problem child. At Santa Monica High School, he shirked his studies. Felt alienated from other students. Ignored his mother, an immigrant whose American dream included her oldest child attending college and becoming a white-collar professional.

“She was pretty upset,” the prodigal son admitted.

A real slacker, that Jonny Kim. His high school GPA? 3.67. (“Didn’t study at all,” said his brother, Jeffrey, “and he still got As.”) His peers? Loved the guy. (“He leads by example, works harder than anybody and helps others reach their potential,” noted Matt Flanders, Santa Monica’s water polo coach.) His post-graduation ambition? Navy SEALs. (“He sets ridiculously high goals for himself,” Jeffrey said, “and I’ve never seem him fail.”)

A corpsman, the Coronado-based SEAL completed two combat deployments to Iraq, treating wounded Americans and insurgents alike. In the 2006 battle of Ramadi, Kim approached his injured charges with a cool, focused courage.

“You control the situation,” he said, “control the bleeding, stabilize the patient as much as possible.”

Yet the corpsman felt dissatisfied. “Once you get them to the surgical center, you’ve done all you can do.”

So Kim set his sights on a fresh target: He’d return to combat zones as a Navy surgeon.

In other words, college and a profession.

In other words, mother knows best.

Today, Kim will begin his third and final year at the University of San Diego. He’ll graduate next spring with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and then, with luck, pursue a medical degree.

His medical school applications have been emailed to schools in California and on the East Coast, but it will be months before acceptance letters hit his San Diego mailbox. If any do. After all, isn’t Kim an indifferent scholar?

“He’s an outstanding student. One of the top students that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing in 15 years of teaching,” said David Devine, an assistant professor of physics at USD. “This kid makes me absolutely proud to be an American.”

Kim routinely inspires rave reviews. Another one from Devine: “He’s one of the most impressive kids I’ve ever known. He made me want to be a better person.”

Flanders, the water polo coach: “He is a great guy and a fierce competitor.”

Brother Jeffrey: “He’s the most ambitious person I’ve ever met.”

Yet, as a teen Kim was haunted by a nagging sense of disappointment. “I didn’t work to my full potential. I felt like I wasn’t doing what I was meant to do.”

His parents, both immigrants from South Korea, knew what their two children were meant to do: excel. While the boys’ father worked long hours at the liquor store he owned, their mother ensured that they competed in classrooms and sports.

Jonathan didn’t mind working hard, but to what end? When a friend told him about the SEALs, “That was it. I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

After completing Navy boot camp in Illinois, Kim was sent to Coronado for SEAL training. Of the roughly 180 men who began with him, fewer than 60 completed the course.